Skills

Skills are specialized actions, such as healing allies or attacking enemies and are used by Characters to interact with the world of Horizon. Each Skill performs only a single function, however multiple Skills will be available to a Character at any given time. The selection and progression of these Skills is completely controlled by the Player, making the Skill build a pivotal element in every Character's playstyle. The rank of a Skill represents the depth of a Character's experience with that action. For each rank, the Character gains +1AP, or Action Point, when making a test on that Skill. The difficulty of a test is measured in the AP required to succeed, making the +1AP bonus per Skill rank highly important. If the Character is forced to use a rank 0 Skill, a -10AP penalty is applied to the attempt. Ranks can be added to any available Skill at a cost of 1 Skill Point per rank. For more information, see the Earning Skill Points section.

There are two main types of Skill: Root Skills and Branch Skills. These two Skill types are formed into groups of one Root Skill and multiple Branch Skills, called Skill Trees. Within each Tree, Branch Skills cannot gain ranks until the Root Skill has first been unlocked. In addition to the benefits of their own ranks, Branch Skills also gain a +1AP bonus for each rank in their Root Skill. This makes the Root Skill the single most important part of every Tree. Each time a Character gains a level, they unlock one new Branch Skill of the Player's choice in an available Skill Tree. For information about unlocking new Root Skills, see the Perks section.

At Character creation, the Player chooses any 3 Root Skills to define their Character's capabilities. Once chosen, the Player may spend Skill Points to add ranks in the selected Root Skills. As these points are spent, the Character begins to gain levels. Each time a level is gained, the Player chooses one new Branch Skill in an available Skill Tree to unlock, allowing further Skill Points to be spent in that Skill. After Character creation, the only way to gain new Root Skills is through the use of Perks, so choose wisely!

Perks are special bonuses which cost no Skill Points and offer a wide variety of unique effects. Every third Character level, a new Perk is gained in addition to the Branch Skill unlock for that level. A given Perk can be selected multiple times if desired, increasing its potency each time, but only a single instance of a single Perk may be gained every third level, so choose wisely! Notably, Perks offer the only method of gaining new Root Skills after Character creation. For more information on specific Perks and their effects, see the Perks List.

Every Character begins at level 1, gaining levels as Skill Points are spent in their Skills. gains levels however, it will offer more Skills and higher Skill caps along with a selection of Perks. Classes advance automatically, gaining a level every time a certain number of Skill Points have been spent in them. The number of Points required to advance increases for each level and is always equal to (the current Class level) + 3. This means at level 1, a Class will require 1 + 3 = 4 Skill Points to be spent. Each time a Class advances, the Player may unlock one new Side Skill for that Class. For every three advances, the Player may also unlock one new Perk. The maximum rank for Skills also depends on the level of their Class; a Side Skill may only have ranks equal to its Class level, while a Core Skill may have double that number.

As mentioned before, unlocking and upgrading Classes and Skills costs Skill Points. A large number of Skill points are given when creating a new Character to help them get started, but afterwards they are only awarded to Players after each play session and the number achieved can vary greatly depending on the Player's performance. The exact number of Skill Points awarded to each Player will always fall to the Director's discretion, but as a general starting point, Skill Points should usually be awarded as follows:

• 1 automatic point each session for every participating Player
• 1 additional point for every Player when the group successfully completes a Side Objective
• 1 additional point for every Player when the group successfully completes a Main Objective
• 1 special point awarded to Players for an especially strong performance; this can take the form of an impressive feat of bravery or skill, good leadership, effective teamwork or a strong delivery of roleplaying. If someone is contributing a lot to the group, the gameplay, or especially both, consider giving them a little extra reward!